Update (March 30, 2019): New autopsy information reveals wealthy Democratic donor Ed Buck waited 15 minutes before calling emergency responders for the second Black man who died at his home.
The Los Angeles Times reports when Timothy Dean, 55, fell unconscious, Buck, 64, allegedly attempted to administer CPR for 15 minutes before calling 911. Buck, according to the coroner's office report, also said Dean used a piece of fabric to create a noose that he placed around his neck, claiming the victim was acting "bizarrely" and allegedly throwing clothes in the air. The coroner investigator, Brenda Shafer, refuted this account, reporting there was no fabric in the shape of a noose found at the scene.
However, Buck and his attorney, Seymour Amster, have a different version of events.
“He finds Timothy in a state of being unresponsive in the living room. He doesn’t wait to call 911. He calls, and as he’s on the phone, he’s getting instructions to perform CPR,” Amster told the New York Daily News.
In the 64-year-old's timeline, he performed CPR after calling 911, not before. Dean and Buck were allegedly in different rooms — the victim was reportedly in the living room on January 7. When the donor returned from taking a shower, he found the man unresponsive.
On Monday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office confirmed Dean died of an accidental methamphetamine overdose. The victim's death is still under investigation.
Original: The second man to die in the home of Democratic donor Ed Buck reportedly died of a drug overdose.
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department announced the cause of Timothy Dean’s death on Monday, reports NBC News. A coroner determined Dean died of a methamphetamine overdose. The 55-year-old died on January 7, less than a year after another man, Gemmel Moore, departed. Like Dean, Moore succumbed to a meth overdose.
Buck has never been prosecuted, but LaTisha Dixon, Moore’s mother, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him, according to The Los Angeles Times. Dixon believes Dean’s death “would have been preventable” if officials heeded her warning about Buck. Other men have also accused Buck of injecting them with drugs, as Blavity previously reported.
“Ed Buck can never fully compensate Gemmel’s mother and his family for hurting and killing Gemmel as we have alleged, but as a wealthy donor, it is only fitting that he take the funds he uses to influence politicians like Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey to atone for his crimes against Gemmel,” Nana Gyamfi, Nixon’s attorney, said in a statement.
“I have to live with this for the rest of my life,” Nixon told an audience of protestors in February, according to LA Mag. “I always take care of people, I always treat them good. And my baby died alone in Ed Buck’s house. He didn’t have nobody to hold his hand. When the camera goes away, when everyone goes away, I’m still here without my baby.”
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The lawsuit claims Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey and Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum violated Moore’s 14th Amendment rights by “failing and refusing to impartially prosecute white men, like Mr. Buck, who commit felonious crimes of narcotics possession and physical violence against Black men, including Mr. Moore.”
Hussain Turk, another member of Dixon’s legal team, believes Buck is free because he’s white and his victims are poor Black gay men.
“If the dead body of a blond-haired, blue-eyed white man was found in the home of an older Black man, he'd be lucky to even make it to the police station alive,” Turk said.
Dixon pointed to evidence found in Buck’s apartment and reports from the media.
“Something has to be done, please,” Nixon said during the protest. “I’m asking the voters to take this into account when it’s time to re-elect Jackie Lacey. We saw dirty syringe needles. The L.A. Times reported all the evidence. Why wasn’t anything tested? What kind of investigation is that?”
Buck has denied any wrongdoing in a statement from his attorney.
“On behalf of Mr. Buck, we categorically deny all allegations of wrongdoing and look forward to litigating this matter in a court of law,” said Buck's attorney, Seymour Amster.
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